A focus on flexible marketing of cattle has been integral to Ibis Creek Pastoral achieving long-term success.

Mick and Amanda Clark, who own Ibis Creek Pastoral Company at Mt Coolon, believed being able to sell lightweight live export cattle and also finish prime bullocks takes full advantage of their cattle enterprise’s unique geographical location.

The 17,000 hectare Mt Coolon property is situated inland from Collinsville and Mr Clark said their positioning enables the cattle operation to assess both markets.

“We target the EU (European Union) market for bullocks, but where I’m situated we can have a foot in both camps and do a bit of live cattle export as well,” he said.

“The markets we target each year depend heavily on the type of season and market prices,” he said.

EU market prices have fluctuated up and down over recent years, but Mr Clark said riding the waves has overall resulted in a positive outcome for his cattle business.

“It’s very important to have flexibility in marketing your cattle if interruptions or negative external factors impact heavily on one particular market and its cattle prices,” he said.

It’s very important to have flexibility in marketing your cattle if interruptions or negative external factors impact heavily on one particular market and its cattle prices - Mick Clark, Ibis Creek Pastoral, Mt Coolon

Also, a focus on maintaining a straight grey Brahman commercial herd is a key reason for the Clark family attending and purchasing their bulls at Big Country’s annual bull sale in Charters Towers.

“I’ve always had grey Brahmans, like my father, and they perform very well for us,” Mr Clark said.

“I have considered introducing other breeds into my herd, but the straight grey Brahman has consistently given us the best market options for our cattle operation.”

Mr Clark noted his grey Brahman cattle were able to lay down fat cover at an earlier age compared to producing cross bred cattle.

And the future looks optimistic for the Clark family after an improvement in recent seasonal conditions.

“We had rain in May this year that set the property up for winter and some storms rolled over during October, November and early December,” Mr Clark said.